Love's Rebirth
by Bob Lobster
Summary: Ranma/Sailor Moon crossover - Time heals all wounds but sometimes the heart refuses to forget
1. Death

Love's Rebirth  
By Bob Lobster  
ranikkoku@hotmail.com  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters henceforth. I'm just  
borrowing them for a while. I promise to return them in more or less  
the same condition.  
  
Song: Pain Is So Close To Pleasure  
Artist: Queen  
Release Date: 1986  
  
Oooh oooh pain is so close to pleasure oh yeah  
Sunshine and rainy weather go hand in hand together all your life  
Oooh oooh pain is so close to pleasure everybody knows  
One day we love each other then we're fighting one another all the  
time  
When I was young and just getting started  
And people talked to me they sounded broken hearted  
Then I grew up and got my imagination  
And all I wanted was to start a new relation  
So in love but love had a bad reaction  
I was looking for some good old satisfaction  
But pain is all I got when all I needed was some love and affection  
Oooh oooh pain is so close to pleasure yeah yeah  
Sunshine and rainy weather go hand in hand together all your life  
Pain and pleasure  
Oooh oooh pain and pleasure  
When your plans go wrong and you turn out the light  
But inside of your mind you have to put up a fight  
Where are the answers that we're all searching for  
There's nothing in this world to be sure of anymore  
Some days you're feeling good some days you're feeling bad  
But if you're feeling happy someone else is always sad  
Let the sweetness of love wipe the tears from your face  
For better for worse so let's make the best of the rest of our years  
Oooh oooh pain is so close to pleasure I told you so  
Sunshine and rainy weather go hand in hand together all your life  
Pain and pleasure  
Oooh oooh pain is so close to pleasure yeah yeah  
Sunshine and rainy weather go hand in hand together all your life  
All your life  
Pain - pleasure ....  
  
AN: Don't mind the theme song, it really has nothing to do with the   
story.^_^  
  
Chapter 1: Death  
  
*He's Dead.*  
  
This thought repeated itself through the young man's head as he walked  
down the quiet street, eyes lowered to watch his slightly shuffling  
feet. He stopped for a moment in order to orient himself on the  
unfamiliar street and find the direction in which he should be going.  
Looking up the street slightly, he noticed a sign and compared the  
street name on the sign to the one on the small, crumpled piece of  
paper in his hand. Finding the two to be the same, he lowered his head  
once more and continued to trudge along the street towards his  
destination, his mind once more following an all too familiar path.  
  
*I can't believe he's dead.*  
  
He moved his eyes upward to view the vast sky above him. Cloudless and  
beautiful the sky would have, at one point, filled him with wonder  
like no other sight, not today however. Today, the cloudless sky  
seemed to mock him by being in such complete contrast to the mood he  
was in. It was as if the heavens were celebrating his father's  
passing, rather than morning it as should be happening. Of course,  
knowing his father's penchant for making enemies, it wouldn't surprise  
him in the least if he had gotten some heavenly figures upset at him  
and celebrating was exactly what they were doing. Usually he  
understood the sky like no one else, save perhaps his father, but  
today he felt that that self-same sky had betrayed him by being so  
cheery when he was so down. Sending a slightly hurt glare towards the  
bright, laughing sky he quickly returned his eyes to the ground once  
more and trudged along on his less than merry way, contenting himself  
with counting the cracks in sidewalk.  
  
He had just reached his hundred and twenty-third crack when he heard  
somebody curse rather loudly. Looking up from the ever-absorbing  
ground he saw a girl, about his own age, with long blond hair had just  
fallen into the middle of the street. It was she who had sworn(using  
language he was unaware that women were privy to) and she was now in  
the process of pushing herself to her knees. She was also,  
unfortunately, seemingly oblivious to the danger to her person  
presented in the form of a rather expensive looking sports car  
speeding toward her. Sighing to himself at the interruption to his  
personal, internal exploration and self pity session, he quickly speed  
his way towards the girl, shouting a quick warning and hoping that it  
got her moving, as he had the horrible suspicion that he wasn't going  
to make it on time to help her. Unfortunately, while his shout did  
succeed in gaining her attention, it seemed to focus it on him rather  
than the car, as she stared at his quickly approaching form open  
mouthed and completely ignored her impending death.  
  
Putting on a burst of extra speed, he flew towards the rather  
unobservant damsel in distress and leaped at her, putting all his  
strength into his legs as a last second gamble to reach her in time.  
His gamble seemed to pay off as he managed to reach her and shove her  
out of the way of the now rapidly braking vehicle. Unfortunately his  
leap only had enough force to do that, and the push against her bled  
the last of his momentum away, leaving him staring down the rather  
angry looking bumper of what he could now read to be a corvette of  
some sort. He had just enough time to realize just how much this was  
going to hurt and curse the heavens before he felt his head entering  
into a rather painful meeting with the cars bumper, sending him flying  
backwards into another rather painful meeting, this time with a nearby  
fire hydrant. Just before he blacked out he heard a girl scream, the  
squeal of tires and the sound of a bone cracking, a bone he had the  
distinct feeling was intimately connected to him, and then morpheus  
claimed him, and he slipped into unconsciousness.  
  
****************************************************************  
  
*He's dead.*  
  
That thought repeated itself through the young woman's head as she sat  
brooding in her kitchen. She was engaged in what should be her  
favorite pastime, devouring large quantities of ice cream, however  
today it just didn't seem as right as it once did. Rather than make  
her feel better as it was usually wont to do, it only seemed to make  
her feel more depressed and make her resent the ice cream slightly, as  
if it shouldn't be sweet on a day like today. Nothing should taste so  
sweet when she was feeling this bad, it felt too much like the ice  
cream was celebrating the passing of her loved one, though she knew  
that it was innocent of any such crimes. Still, she couldn't help but  
feel slightly betrayed by something that had been a friend to her for  
so many years. Pushing the bowl containing the traitorous snack away  
from her she had a thought that perhaps it was all the tears that were  
falling into her ice cream that ruined the normal effect. It was  
rather difficult to enjoy her ice cream, after all, when it was  
getting heavily salted by her own unrelenting tear ducts. They had  
been leaking nonstop since it had happened, two days before, and every  
time she thought that they would stop, that she could finally dry her  
face and it would stay dry, she would think about him and they would  
start up again.  
  
All in all, it was putting her in a rather unpleasant frame of mind,  
which was worrying her friends and family alike, her family more so  
since they really had no idea what was wrong with her. That was  
something she meant to deal with soon, as she really needed to feel  
their comfort. Her friends did their best, but really what she needed  
was he daddy. Actually what she really needed was for her love not to  
be dead, but since that was looking rather unlikely at the moment, her  
daddy would have to do. Luckily he was a very understanding man,  
overprotective at times, yes, prone to doing stupid things, especially  
when boys were involved, sure, but he was still understanding. The  
last thing in the world he ever wanted to see was his baby girl crying  
and that was what caused him to do all those stupid overprotective  
things, but it also made him a very caring parent, ready to do  
anything to help his little girl. It also made him feel rather upset  
himself when he saw her acting like she had been the last few days.  
  
Seeing her now, completely ignoring the ice cream he had gotten for  
her in favour of putting her head in her hands and crying, he quickly  
got up and rounded the table to stand next to her, putting his arms  
around her shoulders and pulling her into a gentle, fatherly hug. With  
this new, much more comfortable and comforting place to rest her head,  
she rapidly switched to sobbing in her daddy's shirt as he valiantly  
ignored the large wet spot that was forming on his chest. He didn't  
know what was going on, this was true, but by god he was going to do  
everything within his power to see his daughter through this hard  
time.  
  
After a indeterminable amount of time spent simply holding her and  
murmuring comforting words, the torrential rain that was her sobbing  
finally eased up into a light drizzle before, for the first time in  
two days, drying up completely. She removed her face from his shirt,  
mumbling a quick apology for messing it up, to which he just smiled  
and waved it off, before she sat back and looked up into the loving,  
concerned face of her father. Right then and there she decided that it  
was time to tell him the truth, tell him what was really going on, all  
the adventures, the good times and the bad, her history and her  
future, and especially the final, tragic lose of her love. Only then  
could he understand what she was going through and after all he had  
done over the last couple days to bring her out of her gloom, he  
deserved to understand. Looking him square in the eyes, she began a  
conversation that would change her relationship with her family  
forever.  
  
"Daddy? There's something I need to tell you..."  
  
****************************************************************  
  
*He's dead.*  
  
That thought repeated itself through the young woman's head as she  
glazed down at the picture held tightly in her left hand. It was a  
small picture, the kind one would keep in their wallet, and it was  
bent in several places, but it was the only picture she ever got of  
him, so it would have to do. The picture in question was of a young  
man, probably no more than fourteen or fifteen, with long black hair  
pulled back in a loose pony tail, and expressive blue eyes that could  
melt a girl at the sight of them. It was a picture of the best friend  
she ever had. It was also a picture of the only man she had ever  
loved, though she would have never told him that, and now she would  
never get the chance. She didn't cry over his death though, hers was  
an old pain, one she had carried with her for three years. Three years  
to this day, actually, which was the real reason that the picture was  
out in the first place. Sure she brought it out from time to time to  
gaze at it and remember the good times they had together, and try to  
forget about the tragic end of their friendship, but it was this day  
every year that she brought the picture out specifically to remember  
her love for him and to morn his loss.  
  
She raised her right hand, brushing back her short blond hair, before  
lowering to pick up the glass that sat in front of her. Lifting it  
before her eyes she stared into the soft, amber liquid smiling as her  
mind went back to the time she had spent with him. They had been quick  
friends, both being interested in martial arts and other sports, and  
had grown to be, over the course of the months that followed, the best  
of friends. She wasn't quite sure when, during the time they were  
together, her feelings for him had changed, but one morning as she  
got up and started getting ready for school, her mind on him as usual,  
she realized that she had fallen in love with him. At first she  
couldn't believe it. She had never had feelings for a guy before, her  
affections always swinging quite firmly towards her own fair gender,  
but she quickly came to accept her love for him, and to even spend  
hours dreaming of the day she could tell him how she felt. Her dreams  
were so perfect, she would blushingly tell him that she loved him, and  
he would stand stunned for a moment before smiling roguishly(something  
she had never seen him do, but was sure he knew how) and sweeping her  
up into a deep kiss and then proclaiming his everlasting love for her.  
At that point her dreams would take a slightly more erotic nature and  
she would be forced to stammer an excuse to whoever happened to be  
there to notice her deep blush.  
  
Those dreams died a rather premature death, however as his own father  
came to her baring the horrible news. He had seemed so broken up when  
she answered the door that she knew instantly that whatever he had to  
say, she didn't want to hear. When he asked her to gather up the rest  
of her family, she rushed off to do so, more worried than she had ever  
been in her entire life. However all the worry, the speculations  
running through her head about what may have happened to bring the man  
to her door, none of it prepared her for the news that he gave her  
when she was seated before him. His son was dead. The one man she  
loved more than anything else in the world was gone. She barely heard  
anything after that, she recalled later that he had died in some sort  
of training accident and his father was bringing him home to be  
buried. He didn't specify where home was, exactly, only that it was  
far enough that she would be unable to attend the funeral. This was  
all mostly lost on her however as her eyes flooded with tears and her  
hearing and vision both tunneled, her body going numb from attempting  
to process what she'd been told. She remembered screaming at him that  
it was a lie, once she was able to think at all again, begging him to  
take back what he said and, when he wouldn't, running crying up to her  
room where she locked the door and refused to let anyone in. She  
didn't leave that room for two days. All she kept thinking was that it  
was wrong, that it wasn't supposed to happen like that. She was  
supposed to blushingly tell him how she felt. He was supposed to kiss  
her and pledge his love to her. He was supposed to grin roguishly,  
damn it! He wasn't supposed to be gone, without her even having a  
chance to even say goodbye.  
  
Life, however, rarely happens like a dream, and her life at that  
point seemed straight out of a nightmare. It was a long time before  
she could think about him without breaking down and crying. This day,  
and only this day, though, she would let her emotions out and mourn  
him properly.  
  
Out of the courner of her eye, she spotted a woman standing near by.  
She was fairly tall, very beautiful and had the most exotic blue-green  
hair she'd ever seen, a hue she knew from personal experience was her  
natural colour no matter how unusual it seemed. This was the woman she  
was supposed to be with. This was the woman that destiny said that she  
would love forever and beyond, above all others. Yet, on this day, she  
couldn't find it in her heart to even face her because she knew that,  
no matter how much she cared for the lady standing near her, she would  
always hold him nearer and dearer to her heart. In some ways it felt  
like she was betraying this woman that has been her lover for more  
than one lifetime, yet she couldn't stop the way she felt any more  
than she could stop the earth from spinning, or the sun from burning.  
So she pretended not to notice her standing there and continued to  
gaze at the picture in her hand. She then raised her glass in a sort  
of salute.  
  
"Ranma, wherever you are, I hope you're well. This one's for you,  
love." Then she threw the drink back, downing the whole thing in one  
go before pouring herself another and sitting back, intent to sip her  
drink while she relived the past.  
  
****************************************************************  
  
When he regained consciousness, the first thing that ran through his  
head was that he was lying on a bed. Actually, the first thing that  
ran through his head was a shot of severe pain, but he ignored that  
for the more startling discovery. To most people, waking up on a bed  
is the most natural thing in the world, not something that would  
surprise someone so. He, however, could count the number of times he  
had slept on a bed in the last ten years on both hands and still have  
digits left over, so it came as something of a startlement to find  
himself on one. The next thing that ran through his mind was that it  
hurt to breath. Although that too was somewhat mistaken, as he  
actually hurt in so many places that he couldn't be sure of them all.  
The most prominent ones however, were his head and his breathing, so  
he contented himself to thinking about those. Breathing deeply, he  
attempted to analyze the pain as he had done so many times in the past  
only to find his thinking rather sluggish, making any kind of analysis  
difficult. He was able to determine, however, that he had hurt his  
ribs somehow, but whether they were bruised or cracked he couldn't  
tell for sure. Thinking hurt. That led a detached section of his mind  
to point out that he probably had a concussion, though the forefront  
of his mind was having trouble recalling where he would have gotten  
such an injury. It was then that an image of a car bumper flying at  
him at high speed popped into his mind and he remembered how he was  
injured.  
  
Deciding now was a good time to find out why he was on a bed he  
cracked his eyes open a bit and immediately regretted it. The light,  
though dim, pounded into his head like a hundred midgets wielding  
jackhammers and he groaned softly before shutting his eyes once more  
in an attempt to alleviate the pain. It worked somewhat as the pain  
died down to a mere one or two hammer-wielding midgets and he slowly  
attempted to reintroduce his eyes to the world of light. When he was  
finally able to focus the painful blur he saw into a less painful  
blur, he noticed that there was a large blur directly over him, one  
that seemed to be talking to him. Focusing further, the blur resolved  
itself into the shape of a girl, maybe a year younger than him, with  
long blond hair and worried expression on her face. Realizing that she  
had been talking to him and in his somewhat addled state of mind he  
had completely missed what she had said, he used all the elegance at  
his present disposal to ask her to repeat herself.  
  
"Wha'dosei?" He then blinked to himself as that hadn't sounded quite  
the way he had intended. She seemed to understand him though, as she  
leaned a little closer and repeated what she had said, a little slower  
this time to make sure he understood.  
  
"I asked how you feel." She stated and his mind, finally clearing  
enough to make sense of things, was able to process it this time and  
even come up with an answer.  
  
"I feel...like I was hit...by a truck." He slurred out happy that his  
sentence, though a little broken, sounded more like what he had  
intended then the last he had tried. She smiled a bit, sort of a half  
amused, half saddened smile, and then reached over to grab a washcloth  
from beside him before answering.  
  
"It was a sports car actually." She said somewhat meekly, wiping the  
sweat off of his brow with the washcloth. She then rinsed the cloth  
out and placed it on his head, before sitting back and continuing in a  
quiet voice. "And you saved my life. Thank you."  
  
"S'no probl'm." He managed before his head reminded him that it didn't  
like his eyes being open for an extended period of time, and he shut  
them relieving some of the pressure. He then opened them again and  
looked around a bit, as much as he could without moving his head. Not  
recognizing anything in the room he was presently residing in, which  
wasn't much of a surprise since he was having trouble remembering his  
own name at the moment, he decided on the next logical question.  
"Where am I?"  
  
He smiled a bit at having managed to say an entire sentence correctly  
and then looked up at the girl to hear what she answered him. She was  
blushing slightly, but she still answered him, though the answer did  
little to set him at ease. "You're in my room....on my bed."  
  
She seemed to blush a bit more, and he felt a moment of panic, which  
he couldn't quite figure out the reason for. He knew there was a  
reason he shouldn't be on some strange girl's bed, but for the life of  
him, he couldn't figure out what it was. Instead, he just looked up  
at her again and asked the next, and in his mind more pressing,  
question. "How....how did I get here? What happened?"  
  
She smiled at him again and he found himself admiring her beauty. Then  
her smile turned a bit sad and she began explaining his current  
situation.  
  
"After you saved me from the car," She began, an embarrassed look on  
her face at the thought of how she'd almost been hurt. "someone called  
an ambulance. The paramedics checked you out, but there wasn't much  
wrong with you, so they said that as long as you stayed in bed a few  
days, you should be okay. They said that you have a few bruised ribs  
and a concussion, but that you'd be fine. I wanted to thank you for  
helping me, so I told them that you were a friend of mine and they  
helped bring you here."  
  
He thought about that for a moment and figured that they wouldn't  
bring him to the hospital for something so minor as a few bruised ribs  
and a minor concussion. Though the fact that they left him with her  
was somewhat surprising to him as he would have thought that  
professionals would be more careful to make sure he knew the girl at  
all. Which he realized he didn't, not even her name. He was about to  
voice that thought when she beat him to it.  
  
"We, my father and I, were gonna try and call your family or  
something, but I don't know your name, and we couldn't find any ID on  
you at all." She looked at him questioningly then, as if she found it  
odd that he wouldn't carry his identification in his pocket at all  
times. For someone like him, though, it just wasn't practical. When a  
fight could break out at any moment it was better if everything was in  
his backpack, so he could just drop it all at once, leaving him  
completely unencumbered. That reminded him, he didn't know where his  
backpack was. Deciding on one question at a time, he was about to tell  
him who he was when she once again interrupted his train of thought,  
something easy to do traveling as slowly as it presently was. "Do you  
have anyone we should call? Where were you headed when it happened? We  
brought your backpack here, but I didn't think it would be right to go  
through it before you woke up, so we didn't."  
  
At least that solves the problem of where his backpack was, now if he  
could just gather his thoughts enough to answer him before she asked  
anything else. Finally he managed to pull himself somewhat together  
and began to answer her questions. "I was trying....to find my  
mother's house. Haven't seen her in years. Had her address  
on....paper, I was carrying."  
  
"You weren't carrying anything when I got to you, so you probably  
dropped it. Do you remember where she lives?" Her face had a somewhat  
confused expression on it now, as if she was trying to figure out how  
someone could not know where their mother lived, but she realized it  
must have been a very long time since the last time he saw her.  
  
"It's...somewhere in my pack. I'll find it." With that he began to sit  
up, but quickly his head began to swim badly and he was forced to lay  
back down, groaning and holding in a mouthful of vomit as his stomach  
rebelled. Deciding that he would find his mother's address later, he  
instead asked the one question that had been on his mind since he woke  
up. "Who are you?"  
  
The girl flushed embarrassedly once more realizing that she had never  
ever told him her name before straightening out and giving him her  
best smile, the one that drove all the boys wild. "I'm sorry, I never  
introduced myself. My name's Minako, Minako Aino. You can just call me  
Minako though. What's your name?"  
  
He couldn't help returning her smile and thinking to himself, in a  
detached sort of way, that the boys must go wild for a smile like  
that. "I'm Ranma Saotome. It's nice to meet you, Minako."  
  
"Well it's nice to meet you too Ranma. You should get some more rest  
though. Do you feel like eating anything first?" Minako asked, smiling  
at him once more. The smile faded a bit, however, at seeing the  
grimace, which appeared on his face at the thought of food, and the  
stomach turning effect such a thought had on him. Instead he just  
asked for a bit of water, and was rewarded with a glass full, which he  
drained quite quickly. Minako then smilingly ordered him to get some  
more sleep before getting up and crossing to the door. She gave him  
one more fond look before exiting the room, closing the door softly  
behind herself. Ranma reflected on how nice she seemed and how  
beautiful her smile was, comparing it to that of someone he once  
knew, before sleep claimed him once more.  
  
****************************************************************  
  
Her father had been surprisingly understanding about the whole matter.  
She had expected him to rant about her safety, or cry about her being  
in danger, or chew her out about her choice of clothing. Although to  
be fair, he did complain about her miniskirt, but once she explained  
that she had no choice about what she wore, he calmed down somewhat  
and allowed her to continue. All in all, he mostly just listened,  
asking for clarification from time to time, providing some comfort  
when it looked like she needed it, and a shoulder to once more cry  
upon when she told him about Mamoru's death at the hands of an unknown  
enemy. After she had finished telling him the entire story, and had  
pulled herself together once more, she waited for his response. Her  
father only sat there for a time though, as if in deep thought. When  
he had finally spoken again, he told her that it would probably be  
best if they kept this from her mother for the time being, something  
that she agreed with completely, the less people who knew the better.  
Her friends were probably going to be angry enough that she had told  
her father, but right then she hadn't cared, she just needed her  
father's comfort. He then told her that he wasn't happy that she'd  
been keeping it from him, but that he understood why and forgave her  
for it.  
  
After that her father and she had talked for a while longer about  
several things. They discussed Mamoru's funeral, something he had  
agreed to help set up since Mamoru had no living relatives, and the  
possibility of a will, something that they should look into at some  
point. They also talked about what she was planning to do now, whether  
she would continue as Sailor Moon after a tragedy like this occurred,  
but she adamantly refused to give up her night life, stating that  
Mamoru had died to protect her and she wouldn't throw that in his face  
by hiding under her sheets for the rest of her life. At that point her  
father had stated how proud he was of her, how much she had matured,  
and once more she broke down in tears.  
  
That had all been several days ago, and now she stood before her  
mirror, clad in a formal black dress, doing up her hair in it's usual  
twin pony-tail style. Her hand stopped, however, as she stared at her  
face in the portal before her. Deciding that the style no longer fit  
her, she let her hair fall straight down her back, before pulling it  
back into a single thick tail in the back. Pigtails were for children,  
she decided, and whatever she happened to be, she was no longer a  
child. As she finished tying her hair off, she heard her father  
calling her to, telling her it was time to go. Sighing gently to  
herself, she stood up and made her way to the door, picking up her  
cat, Luna, on the way by and headed downstairs to where her family  
awaited her. When she got there, her father immediately pulled her  
into a hug, unconsciously squeezing Luna between them, much to her  
displeasure, and asked if she was ready. She nodded to him and  
followed him as he held the door for her. She could feel the tears  
welling up in her eyes once more but she forced them down. She knew  
that she wouldn't be able to keep them away once they reached their  
destination, but she would stay strong for as long as she could.  
  
Her father got into the car, followed by her mother, her and her  
little brother. Neither her mother nor her brother knew the full  
story, all they knew was that her boyfriend was dead at the hands of  
one of the monsters that attacked their town so frequently. She knew  
she should tell them the truth as she had her father, but old habits  
died hard and she was far too used to keeping her secrets. Sitting  
back in the backseat of the family car, she closed her eyes and tried  
to prepare herself for what could be the hardest day of her life,  
tried to prepare herself for the funeral of her soul mate.  
  
****************************************************************  
  
The funeral was a quiet affair. Not very many people really knew  
Mamoru all that well, so it mostly involved his miscellaneous friends  
and, of course, all the senshi. Even the enigmatic Setsuna Meiou  
showed up, wearing a black business suit and seeming nearly as  
distraught as Usagi herself was. Minako would have thought that the  
uncharacteristic show of emotion by the eldest senshi was odd if she  
herself wasn't so broken up by the loss of their good friend.  
  
As the funeral progressed Minako found her mind drifting back over the  
times that they had all spent together. She remembered battles and  
parties and visits to the ice cream parlor. Things had seemed so  
simple then, they would go out, make a quick speech, throw a few  
attacks and Usagi would dust the monster. No one ever really worried  
about getting killed because it seemed inconceivable to them. They  
were the Sailor Senshi. They were invulnerable, nothing could keep  
them down. Watching as they lowered the casket gently into the ground,  
she couldn't help but think how wrong they'd been all that time.  
  
For a moment, her mind flashed back to the conversation she had had  
with Ranma the day before. He had been feeling well enough to talk for  
a while and had told her about how he had been training with his  
father for as long as he could remember, trying to become the world's  
greatest martial artist. When she asked him where his father was now,  
he had gotten really quiet for a moment. Slightly worried, she had  
asked him what was wrong and he had told her, in a quiet voice, that  
his father was dead. He had died recently in China, while they were  
there on the last leg of his training journey, and that was the reason  
Ranma was searching for his mother. She had felt so bad for bringing  
it up, he seemed so sad, but he just waved her concern off, stating  
he didn't want to talk about it.  
  
It was so easy to forget that everyone dies eventually. After so many  
victories, it was hard for any of them to imagine someone dying, but  
the possibility was always there. Death was always watching them,  
waiting for them to let their guard down, waiting to show them that  
they weren't as all powerful as they sometimes thought. It was a  
bitter lesson, but one they learned the hard way, standing here as  
they were, watching their beloved friend put to rest.  
  
Unable to hold it back any longer, tears began to stream down  
Minako's face, and she was thankful for the support of her friends as  
Makoto put an arm around her shoulder and brought her into a  
comforting embrace.  
  
****************************************************************  
  
As the funeral ended, Haruka made her way towards Usagi. The girl was  
standing in her father's protective embrace and looking like she had  
just lost her reason for living. Haruka then thought to herself that  
that was probably exactly what she felt like right then. *Hadn't that  
been how I felt when Ranma died?*  
  
As she stepped up to her, Usagi turned her tear reddened eyes up to  
meet Haruka's own and Haruka felt her heart break for the poor girl.  
It was like looking into the eyes of a dead person. The life, the  
spirit that always filled the girl and made all those around her happy  
was missing and in it's place was a void, like someone had cut a hole  
out of her soul. Haruka reached down and ran a comforting hand across  
Usagi's cheek, wiping away some of the tears that ran down her face,  
before pulling her into a tight embrace.  
  
"I know what you're feeling right now." She whispered into Usagi's  
ear. " You feel lost and alone, like there's no one out there who  
understands, no one who cares. I just want you to know that there is  
someone who understands."  
  
Usagi looked up at her with her deadened eyes, as if searching through  
her very soul before sighing and looking down again.  
  
"How can you understand?" She quietly asked while pushing out of  
Haruka's arms, her voice cracking slightly from emotion. "You have  
Michiru. The woman you love is there with you, and always will be. How  
could you possibly understand?"  
  
"I can understand, Princess, because before I met Michiru..." Her  
voice breaks off slightly, as she has trouble bringing forth the next  
words. This is something that she's told no one, something that she  
couldn't even bring herself to tell Michiru, because it felt like too  
much of a betrayal to love a boy so much when she was supposed to be  
with someone, even if that boy was dead. Pulling herself together,  
Haruka reminded herself that Usagi needed this, needed to know that  
someone understood. "...before I met Michiru, I was in love with  
someone else, someone who I loved more, I think, then I love even  
Michiru."  
  
Usagi gasps slightly at that. Haruka and Michiru were what everyone  
thought of as the perfect couple, soul mates as much as she and Mamoru  
were. To think that Haruka could possibly love anyone more than  
Michiru was just unimaginable. After regaining herself, Usagi  
whispered out a question. "What happened to her?"  
  
"Him, actually." Haruka chuckled a bit at the comical look of surprise  
on Usagi's face when she said that, but it was a dry chuckle, with no  
real mirth in it. "He was the only man I'd ever loved, and still is to  
this day, but he was definitely a man. Trust me, I was even more  
surprised then you that I'd fall so hard for a guy, but he was so  
wonderful, kind, strong, confident but at the same time shy. He was  
perfect."  
  
Usagi looked up into Haruka's face and was surprised to see a few  
tears starting to fall. Pulling her back into the embrace, Usagi  
repeated her earlier question. "What happened?"  
  
Haruka sighed to herself, she really hated thinking about this topic,  
let alone talking about it but she had started this conversation, she  
might as well finish it. "He was a martial artist, his father had been  
training him all his life. Some of that training was dangerous, but he  
really loved the Art, it was him that taught me the true beauty of the  
Art. One day, however, his father came to my family with horrible  
news. There was an accident during a training session, and he was  
killed. I never got to tell him how I felt about him. I had it all  
planned out you know, what I would say, what he would say, but somehow  
I never found the courage. I lost my soul mate that day. I thought I  
would die, I thought it would be better that way, but if there was one  
thing I knew about him, it's that he never gave up, so I vowed not to  
either. I still love him, I think I always will, but I made it  
through. You will too. You have friends and family that care for you,  
and if you ever need anything, even if just someone who understands,  
I'll be here for you."  
  
Usagi was crying again as Haruka finished speaking, but it was  
different this time, there was a light in her eyes that hadn't been  
there before and she had a slight smile on her face. Haruka smiled  
slightly too, realizing that Usagi would be alright now. It would  
hurt, for sure, and it would be a long time before she completely  
recovered, but at least now she knew there was someone who understood,  
so she had something she had been missing before. Hope. Yes, she was  
going to be fine.  
  
****************************************************************  
  
As Minako watched Haruka walk slowly away from Usagi and towards the  
rest of the group she couldn't help but smile slightly. She couldn't  
tell what they had been talking about, but it obviously had an effect  
on the grieving girl as she looked more alive than she had since  
Mamoru died. She would have to ask Haruka what they had been talking  
about that brought Usagi back from the brink of what several of them  
feared was a suicidal depression. Just as Haruka stepped up to join  
the rest of them Minako realized that something had been said to her  
and turned towards Makoto.  
  
"Ummm, I'm sorry, Mako-chan. What did you say?" She asked, hoping that  
Makoto wouldn't be upset that she hadn't paying attention. Then again,  
they all had a lot on their minds at the moment so she was sure she  
would understand.  
  
"I was asking how that boy who helped you out was doing." Makoto said,  
earning a curious look from several of the other Senshi. With all that  
had happened recently, she had neglected to tell anyone except for  
Makoto about Ranma and his rescue of her. She expected to be grilled  
by Rei, but it was Haruka who asked the first question.  
  
"Huh, what boy?" She asked, putting the question they all were  
wondering into words. Minako was about to explain the situation when  
Makoto beat her too it.  
  
"What, she never told you guys? Some guy saved her from getting hit by  
a car, pushed her out of the way, but he ended up getting hit instead.  
She's been taking care of him at her place for the past couple of  
days. You know, playing doctor." She winked at the others, and Minako  
blushed badly, not just from the embarrassment, but also from the  
naughty thoughts running through her head involving her, Ranma and a  
skimpy, little nurse's outfit. Shaking her head, she glared at Makoto  
for a moment before turning back to the incredulous stares of the  
others.  
  
"It's not like that and you know it. He got hurt really badly and I  
feel responsible so I'm taking care of him, that's all." Minako  
crossed her arms across her chest and posed heroically, trying to  
convince the others through shear force of will that there was nothing  
happening between her and the hunk in her bedroom. Then she sighed  
slightly, deflating a bit. "Besides, now is definitely not the best  
time to try to do anything with him."  
  
Makoto looked a little confused by that remark, the thought of Minako  
having an absolute hunk, as he had been described, sleeping in her bed  
and not trying to take advantage of the situation just seemed too  
wrong in her mind. She puzzled over it for a moment before asking  
Minako what she meant.  
  
"Well, you see, he told me a bit about his life. It seems he's been on  
a training journey with his dad since he was five or six, traveling  
everywhere to learn martial arts, but recently his father died and  
he's been trying to find his mother who he hasn't seen in, like, ten  
years." Minako sighed a bit, remembering the pain she saw in Ranma's  
eyes, the deep sorrow of someone who's just lost the only family he's  
ever known. "He tries to hide it, but it's obvious he's really broken  
up over it. When he's well enough, me and Daddy are going to try and  
help him find his mother."  
  
Minako looked up to see the others listening to her story with some  
sadness and great deal of sympathy for him, especially from Makoto.  
That made sense though, since she knew better than anyone what it was  
like to lose a parent having lost both when she was really young.  
Haruka's expression caught her somewhat off guard though, as she had a  
stunned look on her face, which had gone several shades paler. She  
looked like she'd just been told something that shook her very reality  
at its foundations. That made no sense though, she couldn't think of  
anything she had said which would garner such a reaction. Suddenly she  
heard someone calling her name and looked over to see her father  
waiting by the car, waving to her. She quickly excused herself from  
the others, noticing that Haruka didn't acknowledge her and never lost  
that far away look in her eyes, before rushing off and climbing into  
the car for the drive home.  
  
****************************************************************  
  
When she heard what Minako said, she froze. Her mind was awhirl with  
the thought that, somehow, he had survived. It wasn't possible, she  
knew it wasn't, but the story matched so perfectly. The training trip  
with his father, being on it since he was six, having not seen his  
mother in that long, it was all exactly the same. She knew it  
shouldn't be possible, but somehow it was him. She couldn't be sure  
though, not until he saw him, or at least knew his name. Tuning the  
outside world back in, Haruka looked around to ask Minako what his  
name was only to see her getting into her father's car. She called out  
to her, but the car sped off, as Minako obviously didn't hear her.  
Looking around wildly, she saw the others eying her wearily, and  
focused immediately on Makoto. She quickly walked up to Makoto, who  
shrank back from the intensity of the emotions wafting off of Haruka.  
  
"Makoto, you have to tell me, what was his name?" The insistence in  
her voice was obvious, but there was something else there, a sense of  
longing that Makoto couldn't help but notice. It all rattled her quite  
badly, making her unable to fully comprehend what Haruka was asking  
her.  
  
"Wha-what?" Was Makoto's elegant answer to Haruka's question. Seeing  
that she was freaking Makoto, and the others around her, out Haruka  
took a deep breath to calm her down and asked again, in a less  
desperate voice this time.  
  
"The boy, the one Minako was talking about. Did she tell you his  
name?"  
  
Calmed down by the less desperate attitude and more understandable  
question, this time Makoto was able to compose herself enough to  
answer Haruka's question. "I'm sorry, Haruka, she never told me. She  
didn't know it when she first told me about him since he was still  
unconscious at the time. Right now is the only other time she's talked  
about him to me."  
  
Haruka sighed, seeming to collapse in on her self as she gained  
control of herself. It didn't matter what his name was, it obviously  
wasn't the same person. Ranma was dead, that's all there was to it and  
it was time she accepted it. Turning around, Haruka started walking  
back towards her car, a frowning Michiru and confused Hotaru following  
behind. Yes, he was dead, and no matter how much she loved him it  
wouldn't bring him back.  
  
And just to prove it she'd find out who this guy Minako was talking  
about was. She smiled a bit. Yes, that's exactly what she would do.  
  
To Be Continued.....  
  
  
Authors Notes: You know, that one was rather fun to write. Who knows,  
I may actually continue it. Of course, I've got three other stories to  
wade through first, so probably not any time soon, but hey, stranger  
things have indeed happened.^_~  
By the by, I borrowed the idea for Genma's telling Haruka that Ranma  
had died from a fic by Brian Randall called Rursus Iterum. Hope You  
don't mind, Brian, but if you do just drop me a line and I'll try to  
do a rewrite. Thanks  
  
For those that don't know, this was written as part of a challenge to   
create a Ranma/Sm crossover based on a set of die rolls. Check out the   
challenge page at http://www.beeftrapeze.com/challenge/  
  
As usual, any C&C is definately appreciated and can be sent to   
ranikkoku@hotmail.com   
As well, this and my other stories can be found at   
www.geocities.com/ranikkoku 


	2. Not Quite Hell

Love's Rebirth  
By Bob Lobster  
ranikkoku@hotmail.com  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters henceforth. I'm just  
borrowing them for a while. I promise to return them in more or less  
the same condition.  
  
Song: Pain Is So Close To Pleasure  
Artist: Queen  
Release Date: 1986  
  
Oooh oooh pain is so close to pleasure oh yeah  
Sunshine and rainy weather go hand in hand together all your life  
Oooh oooh pain is so close to pleasure everybody knows  
One day we love each other then we're fighting one another all the  
time  
When I was young and just getting started  
And people talked to me they sounded broken hearted  
Then I grew up and got my imagination  
And all I wanted was to start a new relation  
So in love but love had a bad reaction  
I was looking for some good old satisfaction  
But pain is all I got when all I needed was some love and affection  
Oooh oooh pain is so close to pleasure yeah yeah  
Sunshine and rainy weather go hand in hand together all your life  
Pain and pleasure  
Oooh oooh pain and pleasure  
When your plans go wrong and you turn out the light  
But inside of your mind you have to put up a fight  
Where are the answers that we're all searching for  
There's nothing in this world to be sure of anymore  
Some days you're feeling good some days you're feeling bad  
But if you're feeling happy someone else is always sad  
Let the sweetness of love wipe the tears from your face  
For better for worse so let's make the best of the rest of our years  
Oooh oooh pain is so close to pleasure I told you so  
Sunshine and rainy weather go hand in hand together all your life  
Pain and pleasure  
Oooh oooh pain is so close to pleasure yeah yeah  
Sunshine and rainy weather go hand in hand together all your life  
All your life  
Pain - pleasure ....  
  
AN: I like this song, so I'm gonna leave it as the theme, even though  
it still has little to do with the story.^_^  
  
  
Chapter 2: Not Quite Hell.....  
  
Journal Entry #967  
  
Sometimes I really don't know what to do. They all look to me when  
things get bad, thinking that I will always find the reason, or the  
solution for whatever has gone wrong. Even Usagi, who's supposed to be  
our leader, tends to turn to me whenever something troubling comes up.  
I usually give them good reason to turn to me, too. I am answer girl,  
afterall. Right now, however, I find even myself at a loss.  
  
It's not hard to believe that no one is coming to me for answers  
this time. We all know the cause of our current troubles, afterall,  
and it's not something that even I can come up with a solution to.  
Heh, I'm starting to sound rather egotistical now, aren't I? I suppose  
that's to be expected. I have people telling me everyday how smart I  
am, how I can fix any problem, solve any issue, find a way to end any  
trouble. It's hard not to become a little full of myself. These last  
two weeks have been humbling, however, shattering just about any  
notions I had built up about my limitless abilities. It's hard to  
believe yourself limitless, when you find your limit. As good as I am  
though, and humbled as I am, I still know I'm one of the best, even I  
can't find the solution to death. How do you remedy the final  
farewell, afterall?  
  
Our first real, lasting death in our entire career as Senshi and  
it has to be someone so pivotal to the future. Without Tuxedo Mask  
there is no Prince Endymion. Without Prince Endymion, there is no  
future King of Crystal Tokyo; no Chibi-Usa; is there even a Crystal  
Tokyo at all? The only person I know of who could possibly answer that  
question is Setsuna and she's in no fit state to deal with questions  
about the future right now. Her grief seems almost as thick as Usagi's  
and I'm forced to wonder something. Is her pain for the loss of her  
dreams, the work of the Kami's only know how many lifetimes, or was  
she closer to Mamoru than we believed. Not that I think Mamoru would  
ever be unfaithful to Usagi, he loved her far too much, but Setsuna's  
reaction was far closer to that of someone who had lost a lover than a  
friend. I wonder just how deep her feelings for Mamoru went.  
  
I would ask her roommates, as the Outers know her better than any  
of us, but Haruka and Michiru have hardly been their normal selves.  
Surprisingly, this seems to have very little to do with Mamoru's  
passing, though it obviously affected them as it did us, so much as  
some personal problem that the two of them are having. I've only seen  
Haruka twice since the funeral and both times she has been distant and  
moody. More so than usual, anyway. She seems a lot more ready to snap  
at someone over the slightest of things, something that in part  
explains how strained Michiru has looked recently. I don't wonder that  
the two of them have probably clashed more than once in the past week  
or so due to this attitude. Though, the worry in Michiru is easily  
visible when she looks towards her lover, so any fighting they are  
doing can't be overly bad. Still it makes me sympathize with poor  
Hotaru somewhat, knowing that out of the three adults taking care of  
her, Setsuna is stuck in her depression, Haruka is upset over  
something which is causing friction and Michiru seems to be stressing  
out trying to deal with it all. The whole situation has to be hard on  
Hotaru, but she's a strong kid, she's been through a great deal in her  
life and I think she'll be fine now as well. I'm going to have to try  
and talk to her soon though and make sure she is alright, let her know  
that she can talk to me if she needs to.  
  
Usagi, at least, seems to be dealing with Mamoru's death fairly  
well, all things considered. She's about as heart broken as one can  
get, of course, losing your soulmate does that to a person, but I  
don't believe that she's in any danger of succumbing to it as I  
initially thought she may. Despite our initial misgivings, it seems  
that telling her father the truth was a major blessing for her. His  
support has done more for her than any of us possibly could and I have  
to admit that I, as well as the other Senshi, am extremely grateful to  
him for everything he has done since her loss.  
  
Of the other Senshi, Rei is taking Mamoru's loss the worst. Aside  
from Usagi, Rei was probably the closest to him, having dated him for  
a time. Though I get the feeling as I watch her, especially around  
Usagi, that while she is broken up over Mamoru's death, the main  
reason she has been upset is from worrying over Usagi. As odd as it  
is, with the two of them always fighting, I know that none of us come  
near Rei's protectiveness of our Princess. Though I don't believe she  
would admit it under threat of torture, Rei cares about Usagi more  
than just about anyone else in her life. She's been very supportive of  
Usagi during this time as well, spending as much time with the  
distraught girl as she can, almost at times seeming to have moved in  
to the Tsukino home. I dearly hope that her efforts pay off in helping  
Usagi deal with what could be the hardest moments in her life.  
  
The only good news of the past week is that it seems as if the  
mystery man Minako is taking care of is mending quite rapidly. She  
expects him to be fully recovered shortly and has promised to  
introduce him to us once he is. She seems very taken with him, though  
this isn't exactly surprising with Minako, and talks about him all the  
time. She's gotten very little information about his past, he doesn't  
seem to like talking about it, which isn't surprising if his father  
recently died, but she has been able to get bits from him. It seems he  
has been training to be a martial artist all his life. The only family  
he has ever known is his father, as the two of them have spent much of  
his life on the road together. It makes me wonder how he's taking his  
father's death. Losing such a pivotal part of your life can do  
terrible things to a person's psyche and I hope that the young man is  
able to come out of it all right. With Minako there, I don't doubt  
he's getting treated with just the type of care he needs right now,  
something that Makoto has made a good deal of effort to point out to  
her, in the crudest method possible. Personally, I think she's merely  
jealous that Minako has what she labels as a "God-like Hunk" living in  
her room, but Makoto will never admit to that and simply continues to  
make fun of her about it. At least it's good to know that something  
good has happened recently if this boy makes Minako happy. I just hope  
it can stay that way.  
  
Ami Mizuno  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Haruka was sitting in the living room of the house she lived in  
with the other Outers, staring blankly out the window at the small  
garden in the backyard. The garden was Setsuna's domain, her main  
hobby when she wasn't guarding the gates and she took great pride in  
it. As she should, it was a magnificent garden. Due to the extensive  
amount of time she spent in the gates, however, she was forced to  
teach her housemates, though mostly Michiru, how to take care of it  
for her. That was where Michiru was now, actually, out in the garden,  
taking care of Setsuna's plants. Not that Setsuna was at the gates,  
though, but she was hardly in a state to deal with things like that,  
no matter how much peace it normally brought to her. Not for the first  
time, Haruka was forced to wonder about Setsuna's feelings for the  
deceased prince. She knew, as did Michiru, that Setsuna cared about  
Mamoru, but she hadn't realized that her feelings went this far and  
she hoped her friend would be able to pull through. Not that she  
thought Setsuna wasn't strong enough to deal with the death of a loved  
one, she had lived through the fall of the Silver Millennium afterall,  
Haruka just hoped that it wouldn't cause her to fall deeper into her  
self-imposed emotional exile. They had been getting through to her. It  
was slow going to be sure, trying to get through millennia of  
loneliness, but they had been making progress and living in a family  
environment was helping Setsuna bring her emotions to the forefront  
more often. This would definitely set things back, Haruka just hoped  
it wouldn't set them back too far. She was having enough trouble  
dealing with a distraught Usagi, she didn't think she could deal with  
helping Setsuna as well.  
  
Oh yes, Usagi was coming by quite often. Not that Haruka really  
minded, she would do anything to help the depressed princess, but  
talking to Usagi usually brought her memories of Ranma back to the  
forefront of her mind, something that caused her no end to depression.  
On some level Haruka knew that all this talking was probably doing  
more to help her get over Ranma's loss than anything she had done in  
the past three years, but she didn't think about that much. Right now  
she wanted nothing more than to forget about her feelings for a while,  
at least until she managed to talk to Minako again. That was something  
that truly bothered her: in all the time she had known Minako, the  
girl had always been fairly easy to find, now that she really needed  
to talk to her, however, she hadn't seen hide nor hair of her since  
the funeral. She knew, of course, that she could always just walk up  
to Minako's door and knock, solving her problem quite quickly, but for  
the life of her, she couldn't manage to think of a single good reason  
(that she could tell Minako, anyway). It's hard to walk up to your  
friend's house, knock and ask in a polite voice if she is taking care  
of your old boyfriend who you thought was dead. Somehow that just  
didn't seem to work in her mind, so she kept her distance and kept  
trying to run into Minako in other places. It wasn't working.  
  
Hence her current level of distraction and frustration. She knew  
that she was distracted, knew that she was ignoring Michiru a lot of  
the time and snapping at her when she did talk to her. It was  
something she hated doing, but she couldn't help it right now, her  
nerves were frayed and it made her extra-sensitive to anything said to  
her. In fact, the only person she wasn't snapping at was Usagi, for  
obvious reasons, and Setsuna who she had barely spoken to in the past  
two weeks. She knew she was doing the former right now, ignoring her  
lover as she put on a show, trying to get Haruka's attention. Haruka  
wasn't totally blind right now, she knew that Michiru was only wearing  
such a tiny pair of shorts and such a tight, low cut shirt in an  
effort to get a reaction out of her. Part of her even took the time to  
admire her lover's form, for it was quite beautiful, but she just  
couldn't bring herself to the usual level of lust that she would feel  
at the sight of Michiru, dressed as she was, bent over in front of  
her. It was a sight that normally caused her no end to dirty thoughts,  
quickly getting her into the mood for just about anything Michiru had  
in mind, but today such thoughts wouldn't seem to come. Today, she  
actually found herself slightly irritated at Michiru for trying  
something like that when it was obvious she wanted to be left alone.  
Her rational mind knew, of course, that Michiru was just worried about  
her and hoped this would open her up more, but the part of her that  
usually only came out on the anniversary of Ranma's death was in a  
good deal more control and it had her convinced that the last thing  
she needed was to be comforted by someone who couldn't possibly  
understand.  
  
Thinking of people who understood reminded her that Usagi would be  
over soon. The girl was getting almost as regular as clockwork, coming  
there directly after dinner every night. Thinking of the girl  
brightened Haruka's mood a bit for a change. It would be nice to talk  
to someone who understood. Getting up, she wandered away from the  
window, not noticing nor really caring about the look of pain that  
crossed Michiru's face as she stood up from the garden and watched her  
leave.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Ranma glanced up as Minako walked into the room. He was sitting on  
the edge of the bed, having just woken up moments before, and was  
feeling lucky that he had fallen asleep in his clothes as he hadn't  
had a chance to change since waking. She smiled at him as she walked  
closer to the bed, stopping only two feet from its edge and he  
couldn't help but notice that she had a really beautiful smile. All in  
all, she was quite a beautiful young woman with her flawless skin and  
long blonde hair, one of the only Japanese people he had ever met with  
that hair colour. He smiled back at her before pushing himself to his  
feet.  
  
"Good afternoon, Ranma. Are you feeling any better today?" She  
asked, concern evident in her voice. It amazed Ranma at times that  
anyone could be that concerned about someone they barely knew, but she  
always seemed to show her concern when they spoke of his health. It  
was a trait she had apparently picked up from her father who Ranma  
found out to be one of the kindest men he had ever met. Whenever  
Minako wasn't taking care of him, her father seemed intent on keeping  
him as comfortable as possible. Ranma knew, of course, that part of  
the man's concern drew from the fact that he had saved his daughter's  
life, but it still touched him to know that he was in such a caring  
environment. It wasn't something he was used to with he and his  
father's way of life.  
  
He put on his best smile, ignoring the small tightness in his  
chest where it was still slightly injured, before answering her.  
"Feeling much better, actually. I seem to be just about fully healed."  
She smiled at him again, obviously relieved that he wasn't relapsing  
or anything, before she wandered over to her desk to put her bookbag  
away. "Did you just get back from school?"  
  
"Yup," She began, her shoulders slumping slightly. She turned back  
towards him, giving him a slightly strained smile before moving over  
to her closet to search out something to wear. "Thank God. I swear  
someone invented school just to torture people. I mean, could they  
make it any more boring?"  
  
Ranma laughed a little at her melodrama, knowing after staying  
with her for the past few days that she tended to slip into what he  
liked to call 'Actress Mode'. When she was like that, she tended to be  
overdramatic over every little thing but Ranma found it more amusing  
and endearing than annoying as he was sure some would see it as. It  
was hard to be annoyed at someone who had helped him so much. Besides,  
she was pretty cute in 'Actress Mode'. "Don't let the teachers hear  
you say that, or they might try."  
  
Minako groaned at his words, thinking about how her teachers would  
love to find new ways to bore her into a catatonic state. She turned  
back towards him briefly, giving him a slightly evil smirk before  
answering him. "You better hope they don't succeed, since you'll no  
doubt be joining me there soon." Now it was Ranma's turn to groan,  
knowing it was true. If there was one thing he disliked about his  
quick recovery it was how quickly he would be ready to attend school,  
something he loathed as much as Minako did. "For now, though, out.  
I've gotta get dressed. Daddy should have dinner ready shortly, so why  
don't you head down and after dinner we can talk about finding your  
mother, since you seem well enough now."  
  
Ranma quickly excused himself to allow Minako her privacy, a happy  
smile on his face at the prospect of finally finding his mother. He  
headed downstairs and into the kitchen. Seeing Minako's father there,  
he asked if there was anything he could do to help and was rewarded  
with the duty of setting the table, as dinner was already cooked. In  
the last two days since he had been well enough to move around more or  
less freely without tiring quickly he had tried to help out as much as  
he could. They had been very kind to him, afterall, and he wanted to  
repay them as much as he could. He helped with the cooking a fair  
amount since he was fairly good at it, cooking on the road for so long  
had taught him well, but since he had been sleeping Mr. Aino had  
decided to leave him be.  
  
By the time the table was set, Minako had arrived and her father  
was done with the meal. As they ate, Minako talked about her day at  
school and how all her friends were doing. Her father seemed concerned  
about one of them in particular, the one she had told Ranma about the  
other day, but he understood why. Though he had never met her, Ranma,  
too, found himself concerned about the young girl who had lost someone  
so important to her at such a young age. He knew how that felt all too  
well and truly hoped that she was dealing with it better than he had  
in those first few weeks. Minako quickly assured her father that she  
was doing a lot better than she had been, with both her family and  
friends being extremely supportive and even went so far as to praise  
one of her friends, Rei, for being there for her more than anyone  
could have expected. Apparently the girl, Usagi, and Rei fought a good  
deal and Minako had always thought that, while they liked each other  
they weren't nearly as close as the rest in their group. This had  
proven false as Rei proved to be the most supportive of her, showing  
that she cared for the girl more than Minako had thought.  
  
As dinner ended, Mr. Aino served up tea for the three of them and  
thoughts turned to the task of finding his mother. As it turned out,  
the address he'd been carrying had been the only copy he had. He still  
knew her name, Nodoka Saotome, and that she lived relatively close to  
where he had met Minako, but that was all the information he had.  
Minako's father was convinced it wouldn't be difficult to find her,  
though, so Ranma wasn't overly worried. Mr. Aino brought up the fact  
that Saotome wasn't the most common name, something that Ranma agreed  
with, having never met another, and said that he would merely go speak  
with one of the local police officers in the morning, hopefully  
gaining an address. It was probably something they should have done  
earlier, but they had decided to wait until Ranma was better healed  
before introducing him to his mother. This was something Ranma agreed  
with, wanting to be in top shape when he met her for the first time in  
ten years.  
  
With that matter decided to everyone's satisfaction, Minako  
brought up the next thing on her mind. Her friends, or more  
specifically, their desire to meet him. Though he didn't really know  
why they would be so insistent on it, Ranma was quick to agree to meet  
with the people he had heard a good deal about over the last few days.  
Since the next day was Sunday, Minako suggested that she have her  
friends over in the morning, while her father was at work. That way,  
Ranma could meet with her friends in the morning and then, when her  
father got home, he could meet his mother. This was agreed upon,  
though when she went to call her friends Minako decided that she had  
best set the time as late in the afternoon. It was quickly discovered  
that she and Ranma both shared their affinity for oversleeping and  
with tomorrow being the only day she could enjoy sleeping in, she had  
no intention of missing it.  
  
Once she was done speaking with her friends, Minako retired to her  
bedroom to work on her homework, while Ranma followed, intent on  
reading some more of the novel he was in the midst of. If you had  
asked him two weeks ago, Ranma would have told you that reading was  
for book worms and useless to him but with him out of commission as  
far as training went, he quickly found himself bored enough to delve  
into one of the many novels that Minako and her father had. He had  
ended up picking up an english one - thanking his father for that rare  
show of foresight that had made him insist Ranma learn to speak and  
read english, something that had come in very handy in their travels -  
and found himself thoroughly enjoying it. It had surprised him and  
Minako both that he had gone through the first book so quickly, in  
only four days, but he had so much free time that he could hardly find  
much else to do. Right now he was a short ways into the second book in  
the series and wondered how they would manage to save the poor little  
guys and whether or not the wizard was really dead for good.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
Usagi had to admit, she did feel better when she talked with  
Haruka. When the older woman had originally suggested coming to her if  
Usagi needed someone to talk to, she had doubted that it would help.  
Besides which, she had her Daddy to talk to, and Rei-chan had been  
really great. Haruka had one thing that both of them lacked, however,  
and that was understanding. That's not to say neither of them had seen  
someone die before or lost someone relatively close to them, but  
Haruka, like herself, had lost someone who was so significant to her  
that she still, after three years, mourned his death. Someone who she  
considered the other half of her soul, which was exactly how she  
pictured Mamoru. She hoped that Haruka wasn't bothered by her  
constantly coming back to talk with her, something that had become a  
daily ritual, especially since she could see how sad Haruka got when  
she spoke of her lost love, whom Usagi had recently learned was named  
Ranma. She didn't seem to mind Usagi coming by though, always  
welcoming her warmly, so she didn't dwell on the matter for too long.  
That fact was that this was something that Usagi truly needed and  
Haruka had made the offer and had yet to take it back, so Usagi would  
continue coming until she didn't need to any longer.  
  
As she walked towards the front entrance of Haruka's house, intent  
on heading home, as it was getting rather late, she spotted another of  
the house's residents out of the corner of her eye. Setsuna sat in the  
living room, a cup of steaming tea in her hand, seemingly staring off  
into space. She had a sad look in her eyes, Usagi noted as she turned  
fully towards her, and seemed lost in deep thought. This was the first  
Usagi had seen of the woman since Mamoru's funeral and she decided  
that it was a good time to talk to her. There were several matters she  
needed to clear up with the time guardian and now was as good a time  
as any to do so. She excused herself briefly from Haruka, who had been  
walking her to the door, and walked purposely towards the green-haired  
girl who sat obliviously before her.  
  
Stopping beside the older woman's chair, Usagi waited a few  
moments for her to be acknowledged. It didn't take long before her  
presence was noticed and Setsuna turned her sad eyes towards her,  
turning a small, tired smile towards the younger girl. For some  
reason, rather than making her feel better, the smile on the woman's  
face only irritated Usagi, like she could sense that Setsuna was only  
putting it there for her benefit, not out of any real joy at seeing  
her. It was probably her mild irritation that caused her tone to be  
sharper than she intended when she addressed the woman. "You should  
have known. You always know. Why didn't you this time?"  
  
Setsuna's eyes took on a look of such pain when she said it, that  
Usagi almost regretted ever speaking but it was something she needed  
to ask. Setsuna had always been the wise one, the one who had all the  
answers. They could always be content in knowing that she would stop  
anything too bad from happening to the team. This time, however, she  
had missed something, and the results had been disastrous.  
Unfortunately, the faith she had held in Setsuna's ability now led to  
her need to ask these questions. She knew on most levels that Setsuna  
would never let something like this happen if she could stop it, but  
there was enough doubt that she needed this confrontation, if only to  
confirm in her heart what her mind already knew.  
  
Setsuna held her gaze for a long moment, sad, red eyes meeting  
questioning blue ones, before turning her head away and answering in a  
tired voice. "I made a mistake."  
  
Usagi knew that the woman was being truthful, but she couldn't  
help challenging her anyway, if only to see a more passionate reaction  
than what she was getting. "No. You don't make mistakes. How can you  
make mistakes, when you know what's going to happen ahead of time?"  
She saw Setsuna tense a bit and knew she was on the right path. If she  
wanted to get to the route of this, she had to get the woman to let go  
her tight control, if only for a short while. She knew what she was  
doing was cruel, but she had to know. "I don't buy it Setsuna, why  
couldn't you stop this? Or did you not want to?"  
  
It was the last question that hit paydirt. Setsuna's head snapped  
around to look at her and her red eyes flashed with anger. When she  
spoke up, her voice was cold with fury at what Usagi had accused her  
of. "How can you say that? How Dare you say that? I would have given  
anything to save him. ANYTHING!" She was standing now, eyes glaring  
with cold fury at Usagi and she couldn't help but notice how tall and  
imposing Setsuna was when she was angry. Her red eyes made her almost  
fearsome to look upon and under other circumstances she probably would  
have been backing up, looking for ways to flee the scene but instead  
she merely stood a little taller herself and glared right back.  
  
"Then why is he dead? Why couldn't you save him? Why DIDN'T you  
save him?!?" She saw Setsuna's fist balling up and, for a moment,  
wondered if the woman would lash out at her, as angry as she was. If  
she considered it, though, the older woman kept the urge internal and  
instead merely increased her volume to match her rising anger.  
  
"What do you think I am? What do you think I do? Do you think I  
can see the future? The Gates aren't some TV that I can turn on and  
see what's coming! There is no FUCKING FUTURE! There's just a bunch of  
things that could happen! Sure, some are more likely, but nothing is  
set in stone. All I see are the chances, the maybes and probably's and  
probably not's. I can't always be right, I can't always pick the right  
ones! I'm only Fucking Human, the same as you are!!" She seemed to  
deflate at this and Usagi wondered, in a detached sort of way, how  
long she had been holding all this in. Her shoulders slumped and Usagi  
could see the tears coming to her eyes as the older woman continued in  
a quieter, thicker but no less emotional voice. "I...I didn't even see  
this coming. It's like....it just came out of nowhere."  
  
Usagi stepped forward to the woman before her and enveloped her in  
what Usagi thought, quite correctly, was a badly needed embrace.  
Setsuna dissolved quickly into tears as she practically fell into her  
princess' arms. She continued to speak, though her voice was badly  
broken by her grief-stricken sobs. "I.....I tried so hard....to keep  
you all safe. I wo......would've died to...to protect him. I loved him  
so much." Usagi held in her surprise at this quite well, somehow  
having known it on some level already. Hearing it outloud, that her  
friend was in love with her fiancee, came as a shock, but she hide it  
and merely rubbed the older woman's back, holding her tight and  
waiting for her to continue. "I'm....I'm sorry, princess. I'd  
never....never have ta-told him. You...you know I wou....wouldn't do  
that to you. Bu-but I loved him so much an...and now he's gone."  
  
She dissolved then into senseless sobs, her whole body wracking  
from the intensity of her pain and Usagi found herself crying once  
more as well. Crying for a future that would never be; crying for a  
child she would never see again; crying for a lover that was lost to  
her forever and crying for a friend who was more like her than she  
would have ever thought possible. A friend who she only now realized  
had lost every bit as much as she had but didn't have the people to  
turn to that she did. A friend that needed her right now and one she  
was determined to be there for, if only so they could share their  
grief and so that perhaps neither of them would be consumed by it.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
As Haruka listened to her heartbroken friend from through the  
door, she couldn't help but feel a small, sad smile come to her face.  
She knew it wasn't a time to be smiling, not while two very dear  
friends were hurting so much and it really did hurt her to hear them  
crying, but she knew that this was something that Setsuna truly  
needed. This release was the first step in her recovery and with the  
help of the princess, Haruka hoped that she would come out of this as  
a stronger woman, more alive than she had been since she had shut away  
her emotions so many millennia ago.  
  
Looking up, Haruka saw Michiru and Hotaru standing there,  
concerned looks on their faces, as they were no doubt attracted by the  
screaming coming from the room moments ago. Haruka shook her head  
slightly, smiling a little at the two, the first smile she had given  
them since the funeral and, taking ahold of the both of them, drew  
them towards the kitchen, away from the scene happening in the living  
room. Michiru was, of course, the first to speak up as she sat down at  
the table.  
  
"What's going on in there, Haruka? I thought I heard Setsuna  
yelling." Haruka moved over to the counter and put a kettle on to boil  
before pulling out the materials for tea. She took a moment of thought  
before answering Michiru's question, knowing that both she and Hotaru  
were worried about their friend. None of them had ever really heard  
Setsuna yell before and the venom in her words, the anger and the  
spite, it was somewhat frightening coming from their calm, collected  
friend.  
  
"Setsuna is having a discussion with the princess." She began,  
knowing that she wasn't really telling them much, but feeling the need  
to explain this properly so that she could make them understand.  
Michiru began to say something which Haruka knew would be along the  
lines of the need to stop their fighting, but she interrupted her  
before she could really begin. "They're not fighting, not really, if  
that's what you're worried about. Neither of them is in danger from  
the other. There were just certain things that they needed to sort out  
between the two of them. Now, perhaps, they can both get on with their  
healing."  
  
Michiru and Hotaru both sat in silence for a long moment as Haruka  
took the boiling kettle off of the stove and filled the tea pot with  
water, laying it out on the table to allow it time to steep. She gave  
them each a cup before sitting as well and waiting for the tea to be  
ready. When it was, she poured each of them some of it and they all  
sat, quietly sipping their drinks as they each contemplated their  
thoughts. Surprisingly, when the silence was finally broken, it was  
Hotaru who broke it.  
  
"What about you, Papa? Is there still something you need to sort  
out?" She looked at Haruka with sad eyes and Haruka couldn't help the  
pang of guilt that flashed through her system. She had always known  
that what she was doing was hurting her family, but she had been too  
preoccupied to really think about it. Now she was seeing the sadness  
her actions were causing first hand, and it hurt to know she was the  
reason for that sadness. She averted her eyes from Hotaru's and stared  
down into her tea for a long moment before answering in a quiet voice.  
  
"Yeah, I guess I do still have things to sort out." She looked up  
at the faces of the two sitting before her, seeing the sadness in one  
and the longing in the other, knowing that they were both directed at  
her and cursed herself for being as selfish as she was. As much as she  
cursed herself, though, she knew that she couldn't change her  
feelings, knew that she had to resolve this before things could ever  
go back to normal, if they could go back to normal. "I guess I've had  
something to sort out for years now, something I thought I already  
had."  
  
"It's about that boy, isn't it?" She looked up at Michiru sharply,  
wondering if the girl knew what was going on more than Haruka thought  
she had. Before she could question any further however, Michiru  
continued. "The one Minako is taking care of. That's when this all  
started, wasn't it? When she mentioned him?"  
  
Haruka almost smiled at that. That would seem to be when this all  
started, though it had really started just over three years ago. She  
knew now, of course, why this whole incident had upset her as much as  
it had: there was no closure when it came to Ranma's death. She hadn't  
seen a body, hadn't been able to attend a funeral, hadn't even seen  
his father since the day he had brought the news. A part of her had  
never really accepted Ranma's death and now, with this mysterious boy  
who's history matched that of her Ranma enough to be noticeable, all  
the past insecurities, all the reluctance to accept his passing came  
back to the fore. She knew, if she couldn't see this boy, at least  
hear his name and know for sure that he wasn't the boy she had loved  
so long ago, she would never truly move past his death. "I guess it  
does have to do with him, but at the same time it doesn't. I know that  
doesn't make much sense, but I can't explain it any better. This  
started a long time before Minako and this boy came up, before even  
you and I met, Minako's situation just brought it back into my mind."  
  
Michiru seemed to reflect on her words for a long time, slowly  
sipping her tea as she stared blankly at the tabletop before her.  
Hotaru, also deep in thought, stared at her 'papa' for a long time, as  
if trying to read deeper into what she had said, before merely sipping  
her tea and waiting someone else to speak up. That someone was  
Michiru, once more breaking the silence that had fallen over the  
three.  
  
"You know, if something important is happening, you can always  
talk to us about it. We are your family, that's what we're here for."  
Haruka smiled slightly at her, knowing that she meant what she said  
and wishing that she could talk to them about it. How could she  
though, when she felt like she was betraying them with her every  
thought, her every feeling? How could she tell the woman she was  
supposed to love that her heart was pulling her towards a man she  
thought dead, a man she loved more than her? She sighed quietly,  
looking down towards her now empty cup before looking up again to meet  
Michiru's eyes.  
  
"I wish I could, I really do. This is something I have to figure  
out on my own. Like I said, this started years ago and it's about time  
I ended it, one way or another." Her eyes were sad as she took in  
Michiru's form. It was obvious she had hoped Haruka would open up to  
her and was disappointed that she hadn't, but Haruka could only hope  
that she would understand when this was all done. Perhaps, once she  
had resolved her feelings once and for all, she could explain it all  
to the two of them. It would be nice to finally be able to open up to  
her family completely.  
  
Her tea finished, Haruka stood up and brought her cup to the sink.  
She turned towards the two still seated and addressed them once more.  
"Well, it's late and I have a race tomorrow. I'm going to bed.  
Goodnight." Then she left the room, not even really waiting for an  
answer, though she knew that Michiru would have liked for her to wait.  
Now wasn't a time that she wanted to sleep with Michiru though, it  
felt too much like a betrayal of her feelings, so she went to the  
guestroom they had set up and slept there, as she had been the past  
half-week.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
As she walked to Minako's home the next morning, Usagi found  
herself feeling a great deal better than she had since Mamoru had  
died. Somehow, sharing her feelings with Setsuna, knowing that she  
hurt just as badly as Usagi did and that the two of them could deal  
with it together made her heart feel that much lighter. It came as no  
surprise to her that Ami noticed when they met up on the way,  
commenting that she was glad to see Usagi was looking better. It did  
come as a bit of a shock that Rei noticed as quickly as she did.  
Despite everything Rei had done for her the past week, she still had  
trouble not thinking about her in the terms she used to. That's not to  
say she ever disliked Rei, she had always been on of, if not Usagi's  
best friend, but she was used to Rei sending pokes at her about her  
attitude, looks, work ethic and just about anything else she could  
think of. She never really thought that Rei cared about her or noticed  
her as much as she had shown to the past two weeks, but she was glad  
for the change. It still surprised her, though, that as soon as Rei  
saw her the first thing she did was smile and ask what had put her in  
such a good mood. That type of intuition just wasn't what she expected  
from the fire priestess, but she was slowly changing her opinion of  
her friend.  
  
Rather than answer properly and tell them something that Setsuna  
obviously considered private, Usagi merely told them that she had  
resolved a great deal the day before and was feeling a good bit better  
for it. She was, of course, forced to repeat this when Makoto met them  
about a block from Minako's house, but she didn't really mind as it  
merely reminded her of just how much her friends cared about her,  
giving her a happy feeling. That's not to say she wasn't still sad. It  
would be a long time before she really got over her loss and she still  
felt the devastation of having lost someone who meant more to her than  
anything else in her life but she was beginning to see that she wasn't  
as alone as she had first felt and it was lifting her spirits in spite  
of her best efforts to keep depressed out of respect.  
  
They reached Minako's home and walked up the step to the front  
door, stopping to knock loudly and wait for an answer. It didn't take  
long for the sound of footsteps to reach them and before they knew it  
Minako was ushering them in the door. As they were taking off their  
shoes, Makoto asked the first question, the one on all of their minds.  
  
"So, Mina-chan, where's that hunk you've got holed up in here?"  
Minako looked halfway between amused and mortified that she had said  
that, which was odd since it wasn't anything out of character for  
either of them to say. Makoto was just grinning mischievously and  
Usagi had to wonder if she was actually teasing or not, considering  
this was what she was normally like. "We have to see if he's as cute  
as you say he is."  
  
"Mako-chan!!" If Minako hadn't been mortified, she certainly was  
now. Her face had gone a bright red and she was looking into the  
living room, the entrance of which she was standing right next to.  
Usagi suddenly had a very good idea why Minako was getting  
embarrassed. "He's right here and heard everything you just said!"  
  
Makoto did have to blush rather badly at that, letting out a small  
"Eep!" and glancing around the corner at the young man sitting on the  
couch, his face also a bright red as he tried to hide it behind a  
book. Makoto just laughed nervously as she ducked back into the  
hallway before looking at Minako and managing a weak, "Ha ha, oops?"  
  
Minako just sighed in exasperation and pushed Makoto into the  
living room. The other three followed from behind with Usagi bringing  
up the rear. Minako brought them all into the room as Ranma put down  
the book he had been reading, having managed to regain control of the  
capillaries in his face, and stood up to meet them. Makoto blushed  
again lightly as they were introduced, her thoughts running towards  
the fact that she had been right, he was a hunk. That thought quickly  
led to the fact that she had said as much quite loudly a moment ago  
and she was once again blushing as she stammered out a quick "Nice to  
meet you."  
  
Rei merely smiled and bowed to him slightly, saying that it was a  
pleasure and Ami commented on his taste in books. It turned out that  
it was one of her favourites. Ranma shyly stated that he was just  
borrowing the book from Minako to pass the time while he wasn't able  
to train, but that he was indeed enjoying it quite a bit. Then  
Minako's introductions reached Usagi and they all noticed her state.  
She was staring. Not just your usual 'glancing at him cause he's kinda  
cute' type of staring but a full-blown 'eyes wide, jaw on the floor'  
type of staring. The only thought running through her head over and  
over again was *It's him.*  
  
She had only just seen the picture two days ago, not having  
thought to ask before that. It had been small, wallet sized, and  
slightly worn but still in fairly good shape. The boy in the picture  
was obviously a year or two younger, which made sense since it had  
been taken three years ago, but it was easy enough to identify him  
regardless. This was Haruka's Ranma. They were all looking at her  
strangely now and Rei softly touched her shoulder causing her to snap  
out of her stupor.  
  
"Are you alright, Usagi-chan?" She asked gently, her voiced laced  
with such concern it made Usagi feel warmer, more content, simply  
hearing it. Blinking slightly, Usagi fixed a smile on her face as she  
turned to face Rei, causing the girl to smile in return, before  
responding.  
  
"Yes, I'm fine, Rei-chan." She then turned her attention back to  
Ranma, who she could tell was a bit uncomfortable by the stare he had  
been receiving from her. How could she not have stared, though, when  
confronted by her friend's dead boyfriend? She had to be sure though.  
It wouldn't do to bring this to Haruka's attention without knowing for  
sure that this was the same Ranma. Not that there was really much  
doubt. They had the same name - something Usagi had put off as  
coincidence before she had seen his face - and the resemblance was far  
too much for him not to be at least a very close relative. He was  
supposed to be dead though, how could he be standing here before her.  
"I'm sorry, I was just lost in thought for a bit there." She knew it  
was a weak excuse considering how intently she had been staring at  
him, but they all seemed to buy it. It probably helped that she had  
been getting lost in thought an awful lot lately. "My names Usagi,  
it's really nice to meet you."  
  
She bowed politely and Ranma returned it before they all sat down  
and Minako headed off for a moment to get some refreshments. They were  
all quiet for a few moments, not really knowing what to say since none  
of them really knew Ranma. After a short, tense silence, it was Makoto  
who spoke first.  
  
"So, Ranma, Minako says you're a martial artist." She asked, a  
gleam in her eyes. If there was one thing Makoto loved more than boys  
it was martial arts. Well, martial arts and cooking, but it was a  
tossup which of the two she preferred the most. Ranma seemed to puff  
up slightly at the question and Usagi got the feeling that Ranma was  
at least as passionate about martial arts as Makoto was. "Are you any  
good?"  
  
Ranma's eyes seemed to sparkle a bit at the question, as if it  
were a question he loved to be asked. He smirked before answering and  
Usagi had to suppress a giggle at the flush that appeared on her  
friend's face. Not that she blamed the girl, he was mighty handsome  
when he smirked like that, so full of confidence. "I'm the best there  
is." He stated, and though the statement was an extremely arrogant  
one, Usagi somehow got the feeling that it wasn't an idol boast, that  
he truly was one of the best. There was an air of supreme confidence  
around him that made it hard not to believe that he was as skilled as  
he claimed.  
  
"Minako said that you traveled around a lot." Usagi stated,  
deciding that now was as good a time as any to confirm whether this  
was Haruka's Ranma or not. If only she had told Usagi her Ranma's last  
name. She already knew that this Ranma was a Saotome, if she'd known  
Haruka's than she would have known they were the same ages ago. When  
Ranma nodded to her question she continued. "Where all have you been?"  
  
Ranma seemed to mull the question over for a few moments before  
answering her. "Well, I've been over pretty much all of Japan as well  
as a few of the mainland countries: Taiwan, parts of Korea, a little  
bit of the Philippines and, of course, China." His mood seemed to drop  
a little at the mention of China, but Usagi thought she remembered  
Minako telling them that his father had died there, so she wasn't too  
surprised. Still she pressed on, figuring that she would be drawing  
his mind away from China anyway.  
  
"You've been all over Japan? So you've been around here before?"  
Of course, she knew that he had been here before. His mother lived  
here, after all, so it was very likely that he had been born here but  
that wasn't what she was hoping to learn. She wanted to know if he'd  
been here recently.  
  
"Hmmm, well, since my mother lives here, I guess I was probably  
born here. Can't say for sure though, cause I don't remember that far  
back." His eyes seemed to unfocus for a moment, as if he was looking  
at something none of them could see and Usagi patiently waited for him  
to remember whatever he was trying to. "We traveled this way a few  
years ago, too. That would've been, hmm, about three years ago, I  
guess. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that was in this area. We stayed for a  
few months, too. Left in a real hurry, too, now that I think about it.  
I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to any of my friends. Not  
that that's so unusual, I guess."  
  
"Huh? What do you mean?" Rei piped in, asking Usagi's question for  
her. She was certain of it now, this was definitely Haruka's Ranma,  
they were far too similar to be different people. Now she was more  
concerned about why he apparently faked his own death. If he didn't  
have a good reason for what he did, she wouldn't be very pleased with  
him. He had broken her friend's heart very badly, so badly she had yet  
to fully recover from it, and if he didn't have a damn good reason for  
it, there would be hell to pay.  
  
"Well, Pop had a tendency to be....umm.....less than trust-  
worthy." They all looked at him a bit strangely at that, including  
Minako who had just re-entered the room, baring drinks for everyone.  
Seeing their looks, Ranma elaborated a little. "Because we traveled  
all the time, he couldn't really get a steady job, so he had a habit  
of.....stealing.....from time to time. Among other things. This led to  
a few late night moves as he pulled us out of areas before anyone  
caught on. I was actually waiting for a buddy of mine, we had a dual  
scheduled, when Pop showed up and started spouting about it being time  
to go. I wanted to stay, or at least have time to say goodbye to my  
friends, so we fought about it but I wasn't good enough yet to take  
him. After he beat me, he dragged me off and we started to head to  
China."  
  
"He.......he BEAT you?!?" Rei sputtered out. Ranma had said it so  
casually, like it was the most normal thing in the world, leaving all  
of them staring at him incredulously. What kind of monster was this  
man?  
  
"Huh? Oh, no, not like that!" Ranma disclaimed loudly when he  
realized exactly what they thought. "No, no, Pop was never like that.  
He'd never Beat me, beat me. I just meant, we're martial artists. We  
usually settled disagreements by sparring. First to get knocked out or  
give up lost. At that point he still beat me in fights a lot." Looks  
of comprehension blossomed on everyone's faces, as well as looks of  
relief. Usagi's, however, was tinged with sadness, as she was pretty  
sure she knew what had happened.  
  
"So you never even got to say goodbye to your friends?" She asked,  
sadly. Ranma shook his head, a sad look also forming on his face,  
though he covered it up quickly enough.  
  
"Nah, was never given time. I didn't even know their addresses, so  
I couldn't even write or nothing." Another sad look passed over his  
face before he managed to pull his mask up again. He smiled  
reassuringly at Usagi before continuing. "Since I'm here, though, I'll  
probably look them up again. See how they're doing. It's been so long  
though, most of them have probably forgotten me by now."  
  
Usagi smiled back at him, also in a reassuring way, giving him the  
impression that she believed his nonchalance to not be the mask it  
was. She couldn't help a thought from forming in her head though. *I  
wouldn't count on it, Ranma-kun. I wouldn't count on it.*  
  
To Be Continued......  
  
  
Author's note: For all those of you convinced I can't write a chapter  
2 to save my life. HA! ........well, actually you were pretty close to  
right, but since I was threatened with death and worse if I didn't  
start putting out chapter 2's, apparently I can to save my life^_^;;  
  
I had planned on putting out chapter 3 of Hell Hath No Fury before  
this, but once I started writing it, it just came so easily that I  
couldn't stop until I was done, so here it is. Hell should hopefully  
be out soon as well, assuming nothing else catches my fancy in the  
meantime.^_^  
  
As usual, any and all C&C will be well-received and appreciated.  
Send mail to ranikkoku@hotmail.com or drop a message at my guestbook  
at www.geocities.com/ranikkoku and I'll answer you as soon as I  
can.(which is usually within minutes, though if I'm sleeping at the  
time it can take longer^_^)  
Thanks for reading  
Bob Lobster 


End file.
